Predictive control of electrical drives

In this work, the application of the Predictive Control Technique to the electrical drives has been considered and discussed, especially in comparison with the employment of the traditional control techniques. First of all, a predictive control algorithm for the Brushless DC drive is developed with the aim of improving the traditional current commutation as best as possible. Then, a novel predictive control algorithm is proposed by imposing both the reference torque value and the minimum Joule losses condition. Then, several predictive control algorithms are proposed for the Synchronous Reluctance Machine, taking into account the magnetic saturation effects too. They are based either on the traditional control strategy or on optimization criteria, such as the minimum steady state Joule losses condition and the fastest achievement of the reference torque value. Finally, a novel predictive Direct Torque Control algorithm is synthesized for the Asynchronous Machine, by taking into account both voltage saturation and current limitation constraints. The synthesizing procedure adopted is also shown by an interesting graphical representation. The effectiveness of all the proposed algorithms has been properly tested by appropriate simulation studies, performed in the Matlab Simulink environment. The corresponding results have highlighted how the employment of the Predictive Control Technique allows better performances compared to those achievable by the traditional control ones.